Everything You Need To Know About Flour Silos
As bakers, we work in a highly competitive market. Accounts are won or lost on pennies and this only underscores the reality that the business side of baking is hard work. Within this series of articles, I intend to highlight different methods bakers use to automate dough production. By providing the pros, cons, and everything in between I ultimately hope you will walk away informed. As a disclaimer and to be transparent I want to inform you that I am a proud principle of Dough Tech and will use the products I represent as the comparison and basis for my evaluations.
In today’s world if you are asked to scale, it will mean different things to different people. For example, you will get a completely different answer from a fisherman than you will from a mountaineer, which is entirely different from someone who aims to grow their business. One act of scaling that all bakeries are familiar with is to scale ingredients, but unlike fish this type of scaling is more like mountains and business than at first glance. The act of weighing and combining ingredients at the right time, in the proper proportion according to plan is exactly how to scale your bakery. As bakery opportunities grow, we usually feel the growing pains first in dough production and then our wallet, especially if you intend to finance your growth through cash flow. In this segment I will discuss flour silos, how to know if you’re ready for a silo, which silo is right for you and how to maintain your investment as you continue to grow.
When is the right time?
Timing is everything, we have all heard that before, but how do you know if you are ready to stop buying bagged flour and begin to buy in bulk? Fortunately, this is easier to answer than you may think. The answer is in the math. How many pounds of flour do I need to buy? How many pounds of flour do I use in 21 days and how much money will I save buy buying in bulk?
Some flour mills may offer partial loads but typically a bulk flour truck will hold 47,000 lbs. of flour. This amount is important because buying in full truck loads you will maximize bulk dollar savings.
Why 21 days? Wheat is a favorite grain for weevil and it’s not uncommon for weevil to be attracted to milled flour. A female weevil can lay as many as 250 eggs during her lifespan of 2-3 months. Within 14 days weevil larvae will hatch and begin to grow. Within 21 days weevil will mature and begin the reproductive cycle again. So, if you can consume 47,000 lbs. of flour every 21 days, weevil eggs will not have time to hatch. Then with a proper cleaning schedule your bakery can remain weevil free.
Cost savings will result from bulk flour purchasing by eliminating bags, less handling at the mill and distribution centers. It only makes sense that there is a cost for each flour bag that is thrown away. Cost saving will vary from mill to mill, but it’s not uncommon that savings range from $1.00 – $3.00 per hundred weight. There are also hidden savings that don’t show up directly on your financials, like the reduction in trash pick-ups, less chance of adding the wrong flour weight at the mixer and less likelihood of workers comp claims from lifting thousands of pounds of flour sacks. And then there’s improved employee morale and finally more warehouse space.
So, if your bakery consumes at least 47,000 lbs. of flour every 21 days you can expect to save between $156.66 – $469.98 per week. With this minimum savings amount you can easily determine what your savings and ROI will be.
Which silo is right for you?
Now that you have determined a silo is the right move, the next logical question is which one. Will my silo be indoors or outdoors and what material is best? To answer these questions, it’s best to understand the pros and cons of each style.
Either indoor or outdoor silos will perform the same and both will have the same features of flour sifters, and weigh hoppers, programmable control panels and dust collection systems. So the important determining factors will be how much room do you have, how tall are your ceilings and where will the delivery truck load flour into the silos.
Indoor Silos
Indoor silos are available in stainless steel or flexible fabric construction. These silos are dimensionally square or rectangular, and the size is easily customized to fit in any available area. Ceiling height can be a concern, so I recommend the ceiling has at least 16’ of clearance.
Stainless steel
Stainless steel silos are rigid, and the silo tank will last for generations. They typically cost more, and the manufacturing lead time is longer than flexible fabric silos. Stainless steel silos also operate by “fluidizing” the flour inside the silo each time there is a flour draw. By injecting air into the tank, the flour is lifted as it begins to flow through the delivery tubes into the weighing hopper. Aerating the flour will eliminate any clumping or silo bridging issues that may arise.
Pros: Durable, long-lasting material
Cons: More expensive to purchase and install
Flexible fabric
Flexible fabric flour silos are the most cost-effective way to get into a silo system. Reinforced fabric bags are designed for the weight and material they will hold. Fabric silos are also less expensive to have custom dimensions or heights. Fabric bags are reinforced with anti-static stainless-steel wires that add strength and dissipate static electricity as flour moves through the silo. Fabric silos are installed with a stainless-steel bottom that uses a vibrating motor to prevent clumping. Within 12-16 years the silo bag may need to be replaced, but this expense is minimal compared to the cost savings of the system.
Pros: less expensive to purchase and install. Easier to scale with the bakery.
Cons: The bag may need to be replaced over time.
Outdoor silos
Fiberglass
If you have limited space indoors or your flour storage needs are greater than 100,000 lbs. you could consider outdoor silos. Outdoor silos are made from fiberglass with a food safe gelcote® interior coating. They can handle greater weight capacities and their heights can exceed 40’. Outdoor silos require cranes during the assembly process, so installation cost is typically more expensive and require more time to build, but not consuming valuable interior floor space is a great tradeoff. By moving flour storage from indoors to outdoors you can expand your production without adding onto your building.
Pros: Greater storage capacity. Free up indoor storage.
Cons: Longer and more expensive installation process.
Silo Maintenance
Just as with anything there is maintenance to your silo. Maintenance routines require annual emptying of the silo and the interior silo walls cleaned and sanitized. This is done by entering the silo and with an industrial vacuum with a brush attached to a long tube vacuuming the side walls and the ceiling filtering fabric. Once it has been vacuumed then sanitize the interior walls by wiping the walls with towel soaked in sanitizing solution. You must use caution not to damage the floor of the silo and it is necessary to follow OSHA confined space requirements while inside the silo tank.
Weekly, the outside of indoor silos should be dusted, and integrated dust collectors emptied.
Daily flour sifter collection trays should be inspected and emptied.
Conclusion
Flour silos can be expensive, and the initial price can seem like an unscalable mountain to climb, but it’s been my experience that when a bakery meets the minimum threshold that I’ve explained, you can finance your silo with no out of pocket expense. In fact, with most installations, it becomes a profit center right from the beginning. From the hard and soft cost savings, bulk flour silos are a great investment that will make your bakery competitive today and continue for decades into the future. Dough Tech can help you determine if a silo is right for you. When the time is right, we can offer financing information to purchase silos when your bulk flour savings will exceed any loan payment. You can find more information about silos at https://www.doughtech.com/intech-silos/
